Trapped
by trublu22
Summary: Two friends venture into the IZ world, only to find that they have no way of returning home. How will they manage their new, strange lives? What will happen when they are forced to go to Skool? And, more importantly, will they ever make it back home?
1. Just a Dream?

**Hi, everybody! :-) This is my first fanfic here. I don't own Invader Zim. **

"Isn't this the best cartoon ever?" sighed my friend Ella, as she gazed at Zim laughing evilly on the TV screen. I looked up from my science homework, unsure whether I should tell my friend how utterly strange it was that she was crushing on a cartoon character. I decided against it. She seemed so happy when watching Invader Zim. Who was I to destroy her Zim-related fantasies?

Finishing up the last question, I threw my hands in the air, relieved. "And I am done with homework until Monday! Take THAT, Chemistry."

Ella pried her eyes away from the TV just long enough to give me a smirk. "Good for you, Zene. Now we can focus on watching the best cartoon known to man. Or Irken."

I flopped myself down onto the couch next to Ella and let my brain run idle as I paid half-attention to the show.

When the commercial break came on, Ella slowly stretched. "Wouldn't it be awesome if we could live in Zim's world?" she said, or rather, yawned. I thought back to the slight creepiness of all the humans in the cartoon, along with the squalid surroundings.

"It'd be a complete nightmare." I said, pretending to shudder, just to get my point across.

"It would be complete AWESOME." retorted Ella. I laughed, glad that my friend still enjoyed cartoons.

"I hungry." she said, after a while.

"Food's in the kitchen." I mumbled, ignoring her bad grammar and instead eyeing the book that I was currently reading. The next instant I had gotten the book and curled up with it on the couch.

Ella, in the meantime, had gotten a piece of pizza leftover from lunch, and was in the process of trying to see how much of it she could eat in one bite.

"It tastes better if you CHEW it." I said, trying not to laugh. She made a face.

"Ew. I don't want to TASTE it. Who LIKES the taste of veggie pizza, anyways? It NEEDS pepperoni."

"A lot of people like veggie pizza." I assured her, but she had now gotten bored with the subject and instead was eyeing the book in my hands. "You're going to miss the best parts." she said, as she let herself fall onto the couch again.

"I'm sure you'll fill me in on the details later." I said, and she rolled her eyes and smiled. That's when IZ came back on, and she was once again lost in the world of strange aliens and large-headed paranormal investigators.

I don't know HOW long the storm had been going on, but I was the first to notice. The thunder was not the soft, rolling kind that I enjoyed listening to. It was the sharp, roaring kind that seemed to make the entire house shake. The rain was torrential, coming down harder than Niagara.

I stared outside the window for a few seconds, before turning to look at Ella. She had finally noticed the bad weather. "You think maybe I should stay over tonight? There's no way I'm walking home in THAT."

"Yeah. You want to call your mom?"

"Nah. I'll just text her." she said, whipping out her cell phone. I watched her hands move swiftly, typing a message, and wondered how someone who could text so quickly had a typing speed of half a word per minute on the computer.

Suddenly, a bright bolt of lightning light lit up the inside of the house, giving everything a strange, ethereal glow for a few seconds before it was gone. Not wanting to be outdone, a particularly loud thunderclap sounded, making the house shake violently. That's when the power went off.

Mostly. The lights were off. The buzz of the refrigerator in the kitchen had stopped. Everything but the television, me, and Ella seemed dead.

I glanced at Ella, who was staring, wide eyed, at the TV, which was emanating a strange, purplish glow. The IZ cartoon she had been watching seemed to have frozen on one image - Zim's yard, strange lawn ornaments and all. But, the image wasn't really FROZEN. Oddly enough, it was raining in the scene. A soft, drizzling type of rain that some people like to run around in.

Things went on like this for a few seconds that seemed more like minutes. The television showing this strange scene, with me and Ella glancing from the screen, to each other, and back to the screen. Finally, Ella slowly got up and walked towards the TV.

"No, wait! You don't know if it's safe..." I told her, but, as usual, she ignored me. She reached tentatively towards the TV to touch it. I closed my eyes right before she made contact with the screen, not wanting to see my best friend getting electrified. I counted up to ten, and, when nothing happened, I dared to open my eyes. Ella stood in the same spot, seemingly unharmed, but eyes wide in shock. Following her gaze, I noticed her hand, which had NOT been exposed to high voltage electricity, as I had feared, but instead, gone straight through the TV screen, only to emerge as a cartoonish hand on the other side.

After getting over her initial reaction, a slow, mischievous, smirk spread across Ella's face. She looked up at me, and I felt the familiar urge to tell her 'no', the one I usually got when her face took on that expression.

"Zene," she started, and I crossed my arms.

"No, Ella. No." She ignored me.

"We are going,"

"No."

"to the world."

"No."

"of Invader Zim."

I stared at her, not at all surprised at Ella's reaction, but still completely in shock at the possibility of entering a cartoon world. I saw Ella beginning to climb into the TV (you don't say THAT every day XD), and ran to hold her back.

"Ella! Think this through! What if we get stuck in that world?" I said, trying, unsuccessfully, to reason with her. I held on to her arm, but she managed to use this to her advantage and pull me in with her.

"Would that be a BAD thing?" she said, in complete fangirl mode. If Zim had walked by at that moment, which was unlikely because, well, it was RAINING, her head probably would've exploded.

"EXTREMELY bad." I said, with the tone that a teacher might take on when trying to explain to a student WHY two plus two equals four. Just. So. Frustrating.

"Relax, Zene. This is probably a dream, anyways. Can you think of any other logical explanation?" she said with a smirk, knowing the word "logic" worked wonders on me.

I sighed, and looked back to where we had come from. It was a strange, swirling portal that hung in the air for a few more moments before disappearing. Dream or not, I panicked. Grabbing Ella's shoulder, I pointed to where our way out wasn't.

"It's fine." she said, with the calm even tone that only an insane person could manage under these circumstances. "Dream, remember?"

I took a deep breath and repeated the words in my head. _This is just a dream. This is just a dream. _

…Then, why did everything feel so REAL? Well, as real as you can get when you look like a cartoon. I felt the rain drops on my skin, heard the grass crunch beneath my feet. I didn't know about Ella, but MY dreams were never quite as punctilious when it came to the smaller details.


	2. Enter the Zim!

**Yay! Thank you, Doomtaco (cool name), for being my FIRST reviewer! You just made my WEEK! You're awesome! :-)**

**Ahem…and, also, I don't own Invader Zim. Only Zene and Ella. True story. **

**Enjoy the next part!**

"Pleeeeeeaaaaaaasssssseeeee?" Ella said for the millionth time, even though we had only been standing in front of Zim's house for a few minutes.

"Shouldn't we focus on more important things, you know, like getting out of the rain, finding a way back to our world…?" I trailed off mid-sentence as Ella started for the front door. It was times like these when I wondered why she even bothered to ask for my opinion.

I sighed, and took off after her, partly because Zim's front porch offered _some _protection from the rain, and partly because I thought I had seen someone - or something - lurking in the bushes next to me.

Ella knocked on the door eagerly, barely able to contain her excitement at the thought of meeting her favorite Irken invader. The door opened slowly, and out stepped an all too familiar "dog". I heard a high pitched noise, and spent half a minute trying to figure out _where_ it had come from when I realized it was just Ella, in fangirl mode.

"It's Gir!" she said, pointing at Gir while she jumped up and down. I nodded slowly and raised an eyebrow, wondering how she would react if she met Zim.

"Hi, Gir!"

"Hi!" said Gir, waving affably.

"Oh, I just want to HUG him!" squealed Ella, and she did. Gir seemed to enjoy it. After my friend had satisfied the Gir fangirl inside of her, she let him go and began to ask questions, which all centered around one thing, "Is Zim home? Tell me Zim's home! I want to meet the Zim! Can I meet Zim?"

"GIR! What does the filthy _worm-baby _require?" shouted someone from inside, which resulted in a longer, higher pitched squeal of pure joy.

"It's…it's Zim!" she said to me, and pointed to the general area where the voice had come from. Before the Irken could say anything else, Ella had pushed aside Gir, and run into the house, where she then gave Zim a hug that would've put bears to shame.

"Aaaah!" screeched Zim, "Get it off of me!" He then pushed Ella away, and, from out of nowhere, procured a can of disinfectant spray. As he doused himself, Ella slowly got up and dusted herself off.

"I forgot that he was all anti-germy." she said, then a smile spread across her face as realization dawned on her. "Oh my gosh! I just hugged ZIM! How _awesome _is that, Zene?"

"Pretty awesome." I said truthfully. How many people could say that they had hugged the real Zim?

"At the same time, you don't just run up to people and HUG them. I mean, look at him." I added, not wanting to encourage the fangirlness.

Zim was curled up on the floor, writhing and twitching occasionally, all the while muttering something about 'filthy germs'. Now _there _was a hardcore mysophobic.

After he recovered from the shock of being hugged full-on by a complete stranger, and a human one at that, Zim somewhat composed himself and glared at Ella, then me, then Ella again.

"You DARE interrupt ZIM while he's busy thinking of an evil pla - I mean, working on homework!"

"Yeah…um, we're new to the neighborhood, and-"

"OHMYGOSH, ZIM! You are epically AWESOME!" I glared for a moment at Ella, who had interrupted me with her outburst. Zim, however, seemed to be basking in her complete adoration.

"Zim IS amazing, isn't he? Now, tell me what you want before I…I don't know…melt your face off or something."

His anger seemed to have mellowed out into a slight irritation. I attempted again to come up with a story explaining what we were doing at his house when an icy cold blast of water hit me in the back of the neck.

This day showed no promise of getting better.

**Well? How are you liking it so far? Please tell me if I've made anyone out of character. I'm afraid I don't watch the show quite as often as I used to, so… your feedback is appreciated!**

**And, thanks for reading! :-)**


	3. Cool Shirt

**TearsxOfxBlood: Fangirls **_**can **_**get pretty scary, can't they? Almost as scary as Gaz. XD Almost.**

**DoomTaco: Thanks for the tip! I'm not an expert on random, so I'll just observe random people and take notes. XD And probably scare them out of their wits while I'm at it.**

**Now, before you proceed with the story, you must know that I do not own Invader Zim in any way, shape, or form. I **_**do**_**, however, own Zene and Ella. Yep. You can…start reading the story now… XD **

"Oops. I was aiming for him." said a voice from behind me. Ella and I turned around. Standing there was a boy, clad from head to toe in dark colors. Dib.

I said the first think that came to my mind.

"Cool shirt." **(A/N Seriously, I LOVE Dib's shirt. XD)**

Ella and Dib looked at me, puzzled. It was a bit awkward.

"DIB-STINK! What are you doing here?" shouted Zim, his anger having been completely restored at the sight of his enemy.

"Stopping YOU from destroying the planet!" Dib shouted back. Ella was smiling from ear to ear, "My gosh, it's like we're in an episode."

Neither of the two paid any attention to her remark, and I only smiled back. She was having a great time with this. I was snapped back to the argument when I heard a cry.

"Aah! It BURNS!" shrieked Zim, apparently having been squirted with the water gun that Dib had, up to that point, kept concealed. He had a satisfied smirk on his face.

"HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO ZIM?" shouted a voice that was not Zim's, but Ella's. Dib turned at her as if she had just said something incredibly mindless.

"He's an _alien. _Come to _take over the planet. _How could you stick up for him?"

"Guy's got a point." I said, shrugging. It was Ella's turn to give me a look as if I had said something mindless. I shrugged again. "Just saying."

Dib threw up his hands into the air. "Thank you!"

"Who's side are you _on?" _Ella asked me, incredulously.

I think I should note that, while the three of us were having this conversation, Zim continued to shriek in pain, smoking from the water. Gir, following his master's example, was also running around shrieking, but this was mostly for fun.

"I was only trying to be fair." I told Ella calmly. She, however, was not so calm.

"But he's DIB!" she shouted, pointing disgustedly at him.

"Wait, how do you know my name?" said Dib, his eyes suddenly flashing with suspicion.

"Uh…" said Ella, realizing her blunder a second too late, "I'm _really _good at guessing names?"

Dib narrowed his eyes. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but I had seen enough of the show to believe that he was now convinced Ella and I were aliens. I sighed.

"I could tell you the truth, but you _probably_ wouldn't believe me." I said. I received another incredulous look from Ella, but Dib only raised his eyebrow.

"Try me."

**Ah, and there ends the third chapter. A bit short for my liking, but I'm afraid it'll have to do for now. Thanks to everyone who's reading. :-) It means a lot to know that you've gotten as far as the third chapter. XD Merci beaucoup.**

**(And, thanks to DoomTaco and TearsxOfxBlood for your reviews!)**


	4. Soda and Bees

**Here's chapter four! Before I begin, I would like to say that I don't own Invader Zim. That is all. XD Enjoy!**

"So…you're saying that you're from an alternate universe where _my _reality is really just a cartoon?"

I nodded as Dib sat pensively and Ella sulked in her chair. He had led us to his house, and the three of us were now sitting around the kitchen table. I was wondering if he would believe me or not.

"So…you've seen how _nobody _believes that Zim's an alien? You've seen Zim out of disguise? The inside of his base?"

His eyes lit up eagerly. I shrugged. "I'm afraid I don't watch the show that often, but yes. Ella, on the other hand…"

Ella narrowed her eyes at Dib, "What are you getting at, big-head?"

"My heads not big!" responded Dib automatically, but then, breathing in patiently, he said, "I was thinking that you may have information that can be useful. You know, things like Zim's weaknesses-"

"Ha! Even if he HAD weaknesses, which he DOESN'T, I wouldn't tell YOU." interrupted Ella.

"Why not?" shouted Dib incredulously, "Do you WANT him to win."

"I do." said Ella, smiling. I rested my head on my palm and tried to explain.

"In our world, Zim is Ella's favorite character." I said. Ella sighed dreamily.

"He's just _so _cute. And smart." added my friend.

I saw the emotions play out on Dib's face. First confusion. Then realization. Finally, a mixture of incredulity and disgust.

"You're crazy!" he said, glaring at Ella. She was snapped out of her daydreaming.

"Look who's talking! I'm not the one obsessed with trying to prove that the kid with a _skin condition _is an alien!"

"He _is _an alien!" said Dib, exasperated.

"Yeah, but you don't see _me _obsessively trying to prove it." said Ella stubbornly, crossing her arms.

"No," I told Ella, smiling "You're just obsessed with the alien." She rolled her eyes.

At that moment, a purple-haired girl walked into the kitchen to get a can of soda. She didn't look at us, but said, "Your voices are making me sick."

"Hey, it's Gaz!" said Ella cheerfully, forgetting the argument. "You're awesome, Gaz."

Gaz shook the can of soda and opened it, dousing us all in sticky, strange-smelling liquid.

"Don't talk to me." With that, she got another can of soda and left the kitchen.

"Awesome, indeed." I sighed despondently, all hope of having a good day having been washed off with the soda.

* * *

><p><span>3<span>rd Person POV

Outside the Dib-Monkey's kitchen window hovered a bee. It was no ordinary bee. No, it was a _robot _bee. A robot bee that was currently recording the conversation taking place in the filthy human's kitchen.

Finally, when it had recorded enough, the bee flew back to its master's base. The master – a certain Irken invader whose name was Zim – took out the microchip and began to laugh evilly. He would always be one step ahead.

He inserted the chip into his computer and began to watch the conversation that had taken place minutes ago. _The pig-smelly females were from another universe._

The Irken glanced at his latest invention – a machine that was _supposed _to have let him travel across universes, and gather an armada of Zims. Yes, with such strength by his side, the earth would have, without a question, been doomed.

However, he had recently written off the invention as one of Gir's failures.

"_Ha! Even if he HAD weaknesses, which he DOESN'T, I wouldn't tell YOU."_ shouted the blonde-haired worm-baby.

_Interesting, _thought Zim, thinking of possible ways that the pig-smelly's extreme, and justified, adoration of him could be used for his benefit.

**Once again, sorry for the short chapter. :-( I'll try and make 'em longer from now on. Thanks for reading!**


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